Major change to prescription rules revealed – will you be affected?
DRUGS for common ailments such as sore throats and ear aches will be available directly from pharmacies to try to free up GPs.
Medicines normally needing a prescription will be offered over the counter to help clear 15million doctor’s appointments.
Women will no longer need to see a GP to secure the contraceptive pill, while pharmacies will perform 2.5million blood pressure tests a year under the wide-ranging plans.
Action to ease pressure on GPs will be unveiled today as Rishi Sunak vows to end the 8am rush for appointments.
Writing in today’s Sun, the PM says services have “come under real strain” post-Covid.
He promises practical steps to relieve pressure on doctors and, in turn, hospitals.
The plan will be seen as an attempt to reset the Tories after last week’s local elections drubbing in which the party lost 1,000 council seats.
High street pharmacies will be given powers to prescribe antibiotics for the first time.
Red tape around prescribing will be cut before the winter for basic throat, ear and water infections, sinusitis, infected insect bites and impetigo.
And patients will get to self-refer for NHS physiotherapy, podiatry and hearing tests.
Health chiefs are desperate to take the pressure off GPs, whose struggles with burnout and staff shortages have crushed patient satisfaction.
The PM says the plans will free up 15million appointments over the next two years.
Amanda Pritchard, chief of NHS England, said: “This blueprint will help us free up millions of appointments for those who need them most, as well as supporting staff to do less admin and spend more time with patients.”
Thorrun Govind, chairwoman of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “These plans will provide better access to care.”